Thanks for the reviews/faves everyone! So nothing really shocking or important happens in this one and it's more of a plot development more than anything else. Tarn asked me regarding updating my Slenderman story and I'm sorry to say that I have some of the next chapter done but I've been working on other stories like this one and some others and not only that, I've been dealing with work and some other issues here and there. I also apologize that I haven't updated this story in over a month too but like the Slenderman story, I've been working on writing stories for another fandom and people liked what I published so I decided to write more of it. Anyway, please enjoy and hopefully you'll like this.

Chapter 54 Iron Wills

(Detroit – 1:00pm)

For the first time in two days, there was a sign of life at the Preston sibling's currently vacant apartment. However, it was an unexpected and extraterrestrial presence that had decided to pay a visit to their home. It was also one that they would be afraid of to pay them a visit. This visitor was an enemy of theirs but it was an enemy that they didn't wish to plot and conspire against. Undoubtedly, they would have to call Lockdown or Blitzwing to have to deal with the intruder. It would simply be beyond their control otherwise.

A seemingly ordinary and unsuspicious police officer had stood outside the entrance to the apartment. Behind his blue-tinted visor, he eyed the apartment number, recollecting that it was the exact same number as the address provided in the police report Captain Fanzone had shared with him. This was indeed where his suspect had lived with her brother and sister. He was very sure that he didn't get the wrong place. After all, this was the location Optimus and Bumblebee visited when Fanzone had requested them to join him in investigating the young woman's day-long disappearance off the face of the Earth.

If someone was looking at him with their own eyes, they would think nothing of it and dismiss the sight. Yet, when no one else was in proximity to him, his true nature was betrayed. That revelation came about whenever he literally walked through the door as if he was a ghost.

Prowl's holoform passed through the solid object and he found himself standing in the outer rim of the living room. He observed the surroundings the living room offered, seeing a television, coffee table, couch and a small bookcase. There was a window opened partially, permitting some light and a fresh breeze to allow the air freshener Mr. Preston used to circulate properly through the apartment. As far as he could see so far, everything seemed so unassuming. It didn't seem to be like a nest of evil for the organic Decepticon agents.

Soundlessly, he walked along, carefully perusing his environment and on the lookout for anything that stuck out as unusual or curious. Nothing really stood out before him. The only thing he noticed that seemed odd was that one side of the couch seemed to be far more worn down and sunken in than the other half of that particular piece of furniture. Prowl stood in front of the couch and studied the faint impression it left, privately noting to himself how it differed from the other half.

"Looks like a rather large Human might've been sitting here for awhile," he thought. "But as far as I know, these siblings aren't big… Odd."

The immaterial and cleverly disguised organic mimic titled his head up and spotted the doorway that separated the living room from the kitchen. Prowl walked around the couch, making his way into the kitchen. Right away, he noticed that this room seemed to be in a state of disarray and chaos. There were a few tupperware containers, dirty plates, partially consumed bags of snacks and potato chips all placed on a counter. He scowled in disgust at the mess, disbelieving that they would leave such a disaster behind. Prowl had realized that they must've left in a hurry and not had much time to clean up the mess they created; either that or they were a lazy trio of organics.

"It wouldn't hurt to poke around here either…"

He carefully began to open up the kitchen cabinets, on the hunt for clues of any kind. So far, all he could find was kitchenware, china, utensils and some food. Nothing of great importance seemed to stick out to him. Prowl didn't even really have an idea of what sort of clues he was looking for exactly but what he did know was to be vigilant of any sort of item that would help link the siblings with the Decepticons that they served. As far as he could tell, he was just rummaging through some Humans' unimpressive cupboards and intruding in their home.

Prowl then walked over to the kitchen sink. He knelt down and opened up the doors that concealed the bottom of the sink. Upon doing that, he was immediately met with an assortment of bottles of oil. There were a few different kinds and it seemed like some of them were half empty. A few of them looked like they were partially crushed as well, almost as if someone was holding them with an overtly powerful grip. He grabbed one of the bottles and held it up to his visor closely in order to investigate it for even the subtlest clue.

"All these bottles of oil seem so unnecessary," he grumbled to himself. "What would Humans do with this collection? And why does it look like a lot of them are half empty? Well, this is the first good clue of sorts I've discovered."

Placing the bottled down in the exact same spot as he picked it up from, Prowl stood back up and shut the doors. He'd be sure to set anything he picked up to examine back into its original place so he wouldn't alert to the residents that someone had been snooping around inside their home. Prowl already had neglected in telling his fellow Autobots of what he going to do today and he certainly had no desire to let the suspected enemies know that he was onto them.

Briefly, he looked through the kitchen again to make sure he didn't miss anything else that might prove beneficial to his investigation. After a minute or two of this, he exited the kitchen with the intentions to look through the remaining portion of the apartment. Before he entered the kitchen, he noticed a hallway that went further back into the apartment, where the sibling's bedrooms and the bathroom was located but now that he was finished with the kitchen, he decided to go down the hall.

The hallway was darker than the living room and kitchen since there were no windows that allowed warm sunlight to funnel through. However, Prowl didn't have to deal with this tiny issue for long as he could see light coming in from the bedroom windows. He could even hear someone's curtains ruffle lightly as a little gust of wind stirred them. For now, he decided to check the bedrooms and come over to the bathroom after he had done that.

Something had caught Prowl's attention as he moved further down the hallway and came closer to the bedrooms. It was something that had not physically moved or something he had heard. Instead, it was a chemical and airborne signature that he had detected. Although it was mixed in with the smell of the air freshener that was sprayed earlier, the ninja bot could still get a hint of it. The odd signal was wafting from one of the bedrooms.

Even though a Cybertronian's holoform was an extremely sophisticated illusion of light and matter that could easily fool the native population, the disguise also incorporated the conscious of the user. They could talk, walk and think in this disguise but it was the main body that controlled it. Although the body would go into a light stasis lock of sorts when the holoform was projected, the disguise could actually scan surroundings and perform some other operations that its original body could (but not to its fullest degree and potential). Unlike its larger body, the holoform could not be killed or die since it had no spark however, if something should happen to the body, the illusion would dissipate the user would come online again fully.

His scanners activated and he entered the bedroom from where the "scent" was the most overpowering. Prowl didn't even bother to observe his surroundings and he continued to analyze the signature. Over the past few days it had degraded in potency and it was marred by the aerosol but he could still determine its exact composition and origin.

When he took a few more moments to process whatever was in the air, he was completely and utterly shocked. He had no idea that this signature would even be in the airspace. The holoform only stood in astonishment and disbelief. The signature was completely Cybertronian in origin.

To be specific, he detected mating pheromones. There were a few different types of these signatures that varied on the types of Cybertronians but this one stuck out to Prowl. To be specific, what he discovered was a seeker pheromone. From that he had deduced that somehow, there most certainly was a Decepticon in this person's room. To make it all the more disturbing and interesting, this Decepticon was very much in love with someone.

Prowl was absolutely flabbergasted. There was no possible way that a Decepticon could even fit inside this person's room. Although they could indirectly do it with the use of a holoform like he had done, there was no way the holoform could be releasing the pheromones into the air. He had no idea how exactly it was done but somehow, one of them managed to get into the room. He was also very sure that his scanners were not faulty or malfunctioning. Why else would he be able to detect the airborne chemical anyway?

"How…how can this be?" he questioned himself out loud. "This can't be possible, can it?"

He began to feel a little uncomfortable and uneasy being in the bedroom for as long as he remained standing in the middle of it. Judging by the level of the pheromones in the air, the Decepticon must've been occupying this room for awhile and only stopped frequenting it recently. More than anything else, he felt as if he was invading a strange nest of sorts. The ninja bot just hoped that if the Decepticon who was in here wouldn't be able to detect that he was in the room if they would return. He'd only stay in there for a little while longer and move along.

This little private investigation he was conducting had failed to provide any definite answers. More than anything else, it gave him more questions to sort through and find an explanation for. The pheromones he found just made the puzzle all the more complex and intriguing. Just a few mere minutes earlier, he was dealing with the possibility of three Human spies. Now, he was dealing with the reality of a seeker being in love with someone. That also just made the situation he was dealing with all the more potentially dangerous. He didn't know much about their physiology and mechanisms, but he had heard rumors that they were extremely jealous and protective of their love interests.

Despite his significant discovery, he decided to poke around the room more to see if there was anything else he could find. Although he already made a prominent find, he was confident that perhaps he could find something else that could help him catch the attention of his fellow Autobots and convince them to take full action against these wily spies. To the black and gold motorcycle, the Decepticon pheromones alone provided more than enough evidence that the suspected Humans were connected to them.

Prowl slowly walked through the bedroom, making his way to the occupant's dresser. Once he got closer, he could see what looked like a piece of paper on top of it. Grabbing it, he saw that it was receipt. He read it, seeing that it was a receipt from an autopart store. Specifically, the customer had bought a few bottles of oil and as he read the name of the oil, he recognized it as being the same brand names he spotted under the sink. Towards the bottom of the receipt, he could see a signature written there. To him, he didn't quite understand the importance of these and most of the time it looked like scribbled nonsense to him. But below the signature, he could see a name in print. The customer's name was Cynthia Preston.

Gingerly, Prowl set the receipt back down on the dresser. He looked around the whole room, wondering what exactly had been going on. Somehow, a Decepticon managed to enter the siblings' home and possibly reside there for a little while. It also appeared that the villainous Cybertronian was in love. With who it was exactly, Prowl wasn't very sure but he was sure that he'd figure it out sooner or later.

"How can one of those brutes be in love?" Prowl inquired quietly. "How does that happen? Aren't they incapable of it? There aren't too many Decepticons who bond anyway. I don't think a lot of them believe in it. It's just even more interesting now since it might be one of the main four we have to deal with… I just can't see any of them in this residence. How could they even get in to begin with?" He shook his head in confusion. "It doesn't matter. I'll tell Optimus and the others what I found and we'll find out more answers later on. I know Optimus might be a little mad at me for doing this without his approval but I'm sure he'll be thrilled with what I found out. If he does have a problem with it, it won't stop me from investigating further."

(Daufuskie Island – 1:30pm)

Darien didn't even want to look at Blitzwing. He was utterly disgusted with what he had witnessed and heard earlier and he had no desire to even look at him. Cynthia had asked him to be his sole companion for awhile until she felt like she composed herself a little more. The boy had agreed to do this because he didn't want any more stress to weigh in on his sister than what she was dealt with earlier.

While his parents and sisters had picked out their little spot on the beach and laid down their towels, he and Blitzwing decided to go for a walk. Mrs. Preston seemed disappointed when they told her this but she reluctantly let them go. Apparently, she was still interested in her daughter's lover and wanted to enjoy his company for a bit. Darien noted that his father didn't say anything but kept his eyes on them as if he was studying them. The youngest Preston was pretty sure this was the case and he was confident he was going to be pressed into fifty-questioning by Robert.

"Darien, please…" Blitzwing's voice had returned to normal and one could tell which personality was speaking now. He was still plagued with pain with where he had been struck by Cynthia's foot. "Can jou try to talk to her or somezhing? I know she vill not vant to even talk to me for ze rest of ze day…"

"To be honest, I don't even want to talk to you," Darien said rudely and shot an unfriendly stare at him. "You broke Cyndi's heart and I'm not going to forgive you easily either. Those were my sister's feelings you hurt."

"I know and it's my fault, I von't lie or try to hide zat! I tried telling her zat earlier too!"

"I wouldn't listen either so I can understand why she did what she did!" Darien turned away from him, not wishing to maintain eye contact with him. "You're so lucky that she didn't decide to tell my mom and dad about what you did. They'd throw you out of the house and force you to get back to Detroit on your own. I'm not happy you're still here with us too but I don't have a choice. I'm not helping you either. You made this mess so you can clean it up by yourself."

Blitzwing's anger and impatience was steadily growing. With the way Darien was acting with him, he wanted to punch him in the face more than anything else. But he knew things would only get worse if he laid a harmful hand on the boy. Blitzwing knew Darien had a perfect reason to treat him this way but it frustrated him that he was not receiving at least some pity and sympathy since he had voiced his regret and wish to make amends with Cynthia.

"Jou know, I could be very cruel and vent on my vay vith zhose femmes," Icy sneered at him.

"Yeah, you almost did!" Darien raised his voice and faced him again despite not wanting to look at him any longer. "You know, I thought you were cool and decent for a Decepticon but you're not. I take back what I said about you marrying my sister too…you're not worth her breathing space."

The larger male growled deeply at his words.

"Fine, if jou don't vant to believe my vords, zhen so be it!" Hothead yelled. "I'm not going to let jou bring me down, jou skinny little punk!"

"And I'm not afraid of you, you mentally handicapped womanizer!"

"Oh-ho, if I could punch jou right now, I vould." He smirked wickedly.

"I can kick you in your groin before you could even lay a hand on me." It was Darien's turn to wear the competitive facial expression. He was wearing an arrogant smile. "That'd just work for me especially if you remain a Human for the rest of your life. Maybe I'll kick you in the groin everyday I see you."

"Jou better pray zat I never get my old body back!"

"Or what?"

"Keep pushing me, little man…"

"You can't touch me, bro."

"Don't call me 'bro'! If jou veren't Cynzhia's brozher, I vould've strangled jou so hard I snapped jour frail neck!"

"You couldn't snap a Pixie Stick, you wimp."

"Darien, I am varning jou right now…" Icy said in a low tone. "I am in no mood for zis. I already have a few problems to deal vith now and I don't need jou adding to zat list. I vant to solve zhose issues, not accumulate zem."

He didn't know what it was exactly but the grimness in his voice struck a chord in him. Darien had seen the stoic personality become irked and act sternly before but he had never heard Icy speak with such swelling fury in his voice. To a certain extent, it actually startled him and made him seriously rethink taunting him. Usually, when he'd become angry, Hothead would take command. He had no desire to see what would happen if Icy became so furious that even the belligerent red face didn't take control. If he was wearing an indestructible suit of armor that would guarantee him protection from being torn to pieces by Blitzwing, maybe he'd continue with the teasing. However, he had no sort of protection so Darien decided to back off for the moment.

"Fine," he said, clearing his throat. "But you're not going to win my sister back, Mandy will hate you even more and you will never get my respect again."

Blitzwing chose to not reply to Darien's biting and cold words. They stung him a little bit, particularly when the boy stated that Cynthia would never be his again. He ignored Darien's forbidding statement and told himself inwardly that he would prove him wrong. What really mattered most was winning his love back.

"Jou can go back to everyone else if jou vant to," he said. "I know jou are disgusted vith me and hate me right now."

"Well, my sister kinda made me stay with you so maybe I should," Darien said begrudgingly. "Everyone will just ask where you are anyway if I go back alone."

"Darien, I vant jou to know somezhing."

The seventeen year old rolled his eyes and sighed. He paused for a few moments but then looked at Blitzwing again.

"What?" he said in an annoyed tone.

"Alzhough zhings vill be extremely difficult between us for a bit, I just vanted to let jou know zat zis also changes nozhing," Blitzwing said. "I must admit I have taken a liking to jou and Amanda over time. Jou also have no ozher friends amongst the Decepticons besides myself and Lockdown so I vill still take ze liberty of safeguarding jou if ze situation calls for it. Jou vill still probably hate me and zat's fine. Jou're entitled to hate me for vhat I did earlier."

"It depends if you ever get your old body back too. You might be stuck like this forever."

"It's possible. But in ze event zat I regain my old body back, I just vant jou to know zat."

"That would be the perfect revenge too. You'd be stuck as a Human forever."

Blitzwing looked away from Darien, ignoring his comment. He turned his back on the young Human and resumed his walk down the beach. Now he was wondering if it would've been better if he perhaps was kicked out of the house and forced to make a very long and difficult trip to Detroit on his own. At least if that was the case, perhaps he'd be able to hatch a plan of some sort to get Cynthia back. As long as this estrangement was going on, an emotion that he hadn't felt in a long time was revisiting him once again; sadness.

"Just go, Darien," he urged. "I vant to be left alone for little vhile."

Darien was more than happy to oblige. He was becoming weary of enduring his presence anyway. Without saying another word, he went in the opposite direction that Blitzwing was travelling. Silently, Blitzwing pressed on. The only good thing about this walk was that he liked the way the warm sand felt against the soles of his feet. The wind was constantly blowing and ruffling his hair which annoyed him. His mood became heavier and more somber with each step he made, separating himself from the side of his beloved Human.

He didn't want to admit it to anyone and not even to himself but he was heartbroken. For as long as he was forced to face this reality, it stung him. Ever since he first joined Megatron's cause and became molded into a Decepticon, he was taught to never regret anything and move on. But Blitzwing couldn't help to not feel remorse eat away at his psyche as a result of his lust and impatience. Without a doubt, he knew that Megatron and his fellow Decepticons would frown upon him for displaying and feeling such weakness, but the triple changer couldn't avoid it. For the first time, in a long time, he regretted something that he had done to another living being.

Meditatively, he looked over the Atlantic Ocean as he slowly walked along the shore. He could spy upon a small pod of dolphins making a brief appearance as their fins broke the surface. Some seagulls screeched loudly overhead, mixing in with the sound of the wind blowing. The dry beach grass that grew on the sand dunes rustled and swayed as long as the breeze persisted. An occasional crab scuttled across the sand as he walked down the beach, moving out of his way and retreating to the laping waves. Everything around him seemed so carefree, light and happy. It was a stark contrast to what he was feeling at the moment.

Even though that all sorts of life and activity was going on around him, he still felt painfully lonely and dejected. The longer it was becoming more blatant to him, his eyes seemed like they were burning. Angrily, he wiped away the excess moisture forming, forbidding himself from shedding a few tears. There was no room for crying, especially for a Decepticon warrior. They were supposed to be ruthless, callous, deadly, strong, cunning, guiltless and masculine. They weren't supposed to feel regret for hurting someone's feelings, even if that someone was their femme. They especially weren't supposed to be leaking coolant from their optics the longer they thought about it and the longer it went about unresolved.

"I'm supposed to be smarter zhan zis…" Icy said to himself. "I acted like a rude, inconsiderate and selfish animal back zhere. I hurt her so much and I should've foreseen it earlier. But no, I had to be distracted and tempted by zhose zhree glitches. She put up vith me and accepted me for who I vas and still remained loyal to me. To repay her, all I did vas betray her trust and break her heart. And I called her ugly and unpleasant… I may never vin Cynzhia back because of vhat I had done. Perhaps it vould be for ze greater good if she didn't forgive me and take me back. I vas so confident zat I vas ze perfect mech for her; I vould be ze one for her and she vould never vant to leave me. She vould alvays love me and I her… I vas going to remain vith her until she died. I vas prepared to do zat for her. Zis also hurts far more zhan any ozher rejection a femme put me zhrough… If I didn't screw up and if a few more stellar cycles passed and ve still loved each ozher as deeply as ve do now, I vould've asked her to become my mate… I couldn't merge my spark vith hers since she is Human but I'd find a vay for us to become a bonded pair. Zat's not going to happen now."

"Ve vould be a mated pair but ve vould have no sparklings eizher…" Random's tone sounded forlorn and sorrowful. "Ve vouldn't be able to have any since ve're not ze same species. I vould've loved to become a daddy and have younglings of my own too…" A little bud of happiness dared to bloom in his heart as he imagined himself teaching a sparkling that looked a lot like him to fly. A small yet noticeable smirk even formed on his face as he envisioned that same young Cybertronian curled up contently underneath his wingstruts for a stasis nap while their father lain down on his belly and joined them for the little snooze. "Zat's ze one zhing I vould not be happy vith if Cyndi and I stayed togezher…"

Hothead could barely comment. More than anything else, he was mad at himself for what he had done. So far, all he could do was manage to stew in loathing and self-pity. The boisterous persona also didn't want to reveal too much about what he thought, feeling as if it was tarnishing his being and image. Like the other two, he was equally hurt and downtrodden.

"Well, you certainly screwed this up this time, didn't you?" a gruff yet very familiar voice spoke.

Blitzwing nearly leapt out of his fleshy prison in shock. He immediately knew who this person was but he couldn't see him anywhere.

"Don't scare me like zat, I already have enough zhings to deal vith right now!" Hothead said angrily.

"I'm over here behind this sand dune," the bounty hunter hinted. "I kinda can't be seen. Only golfcarts and maintanence vehicles are allowed on this island and I'm sure a lot of folks would be suspicious to see a character like me zooming down the roads."

Blitzwing followed the direction from where Lockdown's voice emanated from. He scaled a dune and looked down, seeing the green and black muscle car hidden beneath some palm branches, sea grass and other miscellaneous flora. The Humanized Decepticon sat down on the sand, facing Lockdown.

"And great, I guess jou know vhat happened earlier…" he bitterly concluded.

"That I do," Lockdown confirmed. "I saw the whole thing actually. I thought you had more class than that, Blitzwing. Didn't see that coming at all, really."

"To ze Pit with jou, jou vorthless bounty-hunting scum!"

"Me? Worthless?" Lockdown laughed heartily and transformed into his robot mode. He hunched down amongst the foliage to make sure no one except Blitzwing could see him. "That takes a lot of guts for you to say, considering Cynthia put you in your place and scored a nice hit on your nuts and bolts."

"Don't remind me! Zis body is supposed to be stronger zhan ze average puny Human man's too!"

"Maybe Knock Out's analysis has been wrong then which doesn't surprise me all that much."

"Lockdown, I made a huge mistake!" Random bemoaned. "I need to make it right again or I vill lose her forever!"

"She has every right to not take you back for what you've done to her. If she doesn't want to forgive you and make you hers again, then that's her choice and you'll have to deal with it. I'm sure you'll move on anyway. You ever tried to hook up with Blackarachnia? She looks like she could use a hug."

Blitzwing balefully glared at the bounty hunter. His face contorted into an angry frown, hinting that Random had been replaced.

"Yeah, I tried zat a zhousand stellar cycles ago and she stepped all over my feelings and spark!" Hothead yelled. "She can hug herself for all I care! I don't zhink anyone vill be able to figure out vhat her problem is! And I'm not ready to let go of Cynzhia! I messed up and vant a second chance! I vill make sure I never mess up like zat again!"

"Well, I don't think she's going to take you back right this instant considering she dumped you no more than an hour ago," said Lockdown. "This is your problem and you have to figure out how to do win her back on your own. All I'm going to do is just sit back and watch."

"Jou broke Mandy's heart."

Lockdown's optics widened when Blitzwing uttered that sentence. It came out of nowhere and it startled him. At first, he didn't know how to react and all he could really do was stare back at him.

"She told me everyzhing," Icy continued. "So it appears zat ze both of us are on vhat Humans call a 'shit list'. I vould figure zat jou vould sympazhise vith me and try to at least get on the good side of our Human compatriots."

"I could care less," the black and green robot hissed. "I told her the truth and I wasn't going to lie and say 'yes' only to cause more grief for us later down the road. I don't love her and if she wants to act all overly dramatic and 'woe is me' then whatever. I don't have time for that slag. I'm her guardian, not her boyfriend. As for Cyndi, just drop it. I'm getting fed up already with your mindless babbling about her. You wanted to leave with those three femmes so you could get a release and she caught you. Blitzwing, this is entirely your fault, end of story."

"Lockdown, I love her. I vas in love vith a few different femmes before but some rejected me and ozhers ended up terminating our relationship after a mere few solar cycles for one reason or anozher. I vas stung by zhose failures but vhat I'm feeling now…" He refused to be choked up before Lockdown. "She returned ze love to me. She cared for me vhen I needed shelter and vhen I vas ill and she accepted me for who I vas and she's a Human! Ve vere meant to be enemies but ve loved each ozher despite zhose differences. She didn't try to run avay or abandon me vhen Megatron discovered us. She also remained vith me longer zhan any ozher femme did. It vasn't until I realized I screwed up how much she meant to me. I ruined our potential future and I vant to fix it and vin her back. Zis femme is vorth it." He sighed heavily. "She may not accept me back but I vill try to do everyzhing I can to change her mind and forgive me. If she doesn't, zhen I vill accept defeat and cope vith my loss."

In all honesty, the heartfelt confession was amusing to Lockdown. Even before Blitzwing came clean with his feelings for Cynthia, he had always suspected the triple changer had a little crush on her, even when he met them together in the Steel Star. As far as he could recall, he never saw a Decepticon who was this lovesick and desperate to win back the object of his affections. He almost wanted to pity Blitzwing and the conflict he was embroiled in. Lockdown was quite good at telling when others were bluffing or lying and he could tell that the triple changer was truly remorseful of what he had allowed to happen. There wasn't an ounce of deceit in his voice from what he could hear and that made him feel a little more empathetic towards him.

"Maybe there is some hope for you after all, you hopeless romantic," Lockdown smirked. "I can tell that there is honesty in your words, Blitzwing. If you're as truthful to her as you were with me a cycle ago, she may take you back and forgive you for what you did. Now, as I'm sure you know, what you did was not a very smart thing so I think she'll be pretty mad at you for a little while. I suggest you give her the space she needs so she can cool off and when she settles a little, then try to talk to her again."

"Yes, I don't vant to be curled up on ze floor again as I'm holding myself," Blitzwing agreed. "I never hated Human biology more zhan at zat moment. It's completely unsafe and foolish to be structured zat vay outside of ze body." He stood up onto his fleshy feet. "I vill move on now. Cynzhia's parents don't know about vhat happened and zhey zhink she and I are still on good terms. Zhey vill be concerned if ve are separated for too long."

"Good thinking. I'll be following you around as usual and if it does get bad enough then I guess I'll take you back to Detroit."

"Hopefully it doesn't come to zat. Zhank jou, Lockdown. I appreciate jour advice and jour confidence in me. Zis vill be difficult but I'm resolved to rewrite zis into a happy ending."

(…)

Although her anger and bitterness towards him was still reigning supreme, Cynthia also felt a little anxious and maybe even worried about his absence. Darien had returned without him and gave a rather terse reply as to where Johann was. All he had said was that his friend decided to take a long walk. There was an ominous tone in his voice and Cyndi was not sitting very comfortably with that. She highly doubted her brother could overpower Blitzwing, let alone even kill him. It also didn't appear that Darien had been engaged in a struggle very recently unless if he had caught him by surprise and dragged him into the salty water for a makeshift yet effective burial.

She refused to acknowledge it but she believed that a part of her was still very much in love with him which was why she felt this concern. However, she refused to consider it fully and justified her anxieties as fearing what Megatron and Starscream would do if she returned without Blitzwing. There was no doubt in her mind that she was going to be killed in an extremely painful and gruesome manner. That was something she didn't want to gamble with and possibly manifest into a reality.

"This is getting a little worrisome," Helen said. She sat up and took her sunglasses off, facing her eldest child. "Cynthia, perhaps we should go off and look for Johann. I'm a little concerned about him to be honest."

"He's a strapping, large, strong fellow," Robert duly noted. The lawyer had his attention devoted to the book he was reading. "He should be fine. I don't think anything bad happened to him. With as loud as he can be, I'm sure we would've heard some commotion by now."

"Oh, Robert, stop being such a stick in the mud! He's a potential son-in-law!"

Mr. Preston only scoffed very loudly and chuckled to himself. He resumed his readings and showed no further interest. His wife refused to remain inactive on the other hand.

"Darien, you shouldn't have let him go off by himself," she lightly scolded her son.

Darien only shrugged apathetically. Like his father, he could care less about what happened to him.

"He told me to head back said he wanted to go on a long walk," he said. "I'm sure he'll be back sooner or later."

"Mandy, will you join us in finding him?" Helen asked her second daughter.

"Nope," the blonde replied shortly. "I have to finish charbroiling my other side of my body since it is burnt."

"Cyndi, come on." Helen rose up from her towel and took a few steps over to where her child sat. "Let's go look for Johann and bring him back."

She saw it was in her best interest to go. Wordlessly, Cynthia got up and joined her mother. The duo walked side by side and walked down the beach.

"Honey, are you okay?" Helen asked her daughter. "You've seemed very quiet ever since we left the cabana. Your brother and sister seem to be acting weirdly too. Did something happen there?"

She was in no mood to discuss with her mother what happened. Her parents weren't supposed to know about it either. Blitzwing needed to come back to Detroit with them safe and sound. Cynthia had every intention with keeping her promise and duty to the two Decepticon leaders.

"I'm alright," the young woman lied. "I had a rough time trying to sleep last night is all."

"Was the bed too hard?" Helen pressed on. She was keen on trying to figure out what Cynthia's problem was and fix it. "Your father and I could trade rooms with you and Johann if you want."

"No, don't worry. The bed wasn't hard or anything. I just had a hard time sleeping, that's all. New environment I guess."

"Are you sure? I'm surprised you didn't want to go off with him and your brother earlier. You two were so attached to each other up until a little bit ago."

"We want to give each other some space is all. We usually are very close to each other and by one another's side but I don't mind if he wants to go for a walk by himself if he wants to." Cynthia broke eye contact with her mother. "We get a little break from each other that way."

Helen smiled warmly. She placed a hand on Cynthia's shoulder, patting her there.

"I've seen the way he looks at you and acts around you, honey," she said. "I can't see him getting sick of you easily."

"Mom, are you just blowing sunshine up my butt?" she exhaled heavily.

"Of course not!" Helen removed her hand from her daughter's shoulder. "Why would I do that? I'm telling the truth is all. I've seen it with my own eyes. I just wish you told me about him much earlier! You should've even brought him back home to Greenvale for Easter so we could get better acquainted with him!"

The way Helen was showering praise upon Blitzwing's doting devotion and dutifulness weighed down on Cynthia's heart. She too had thought he was this loyal and steadfast but she got a rude wake up call about that earlier. There was no way she was going to tell her parents about what happened but it was hard to disguise her woe and heartache as long as her mother kept insisting that he was such a softhearted and adorably clingy boyfriend. All she could do was tune out the elder female's testimonies and try to empty her mind of the man who had once filled her being with happiness and soothing warmth.

Turning her gaze upwards, Cyndi looked further down the beach to find the missing man that had caused her so much grief. Off to her left she spotted the hunched over figure of a person. They were kneeling down in the sand with their head tilted downwards as if they were studying something. The waves were lapping around their form and rushed past them as the tide halted a few feet behind them. As she got closer, she could see it was the figure of a man. The closer she got to him, Cyndi could see it was none other than the Decepticon imprisoned within his Human shell.

"Oh, there he is!" Helen exclaimed.

Cynthia had spotted him before Helen did but she had hoped that it would be her mother who would announce the finding. She had no desire to talk to him or even look at him. The longer she looked at him, she felt more sorrowful than rageful. Her heart felt as if it was being squeezed by an invisible hand within her ribcage and her eyes felt the all too familiar burning sting of incoming tears.

Blitzwing easily picked up Helen's voice amidst the pounding of the waves and the blowing wind. He grabbed hold of the tiny object he had found in the sand, plucking it from the wet sand before the sea could seek to reclaim it for eternity. Then he stood up onto his feet and he jogged over to join the two women.

"We were wondering if you fell off the face of the Earth!" Helen smiled largely at him. Blitzwing stopped in his tracks when he was just a mere foot away from the both of them. "Good to see you're alright. We were starting to worry about you."

"I zhank jou for jour kind concern, Mrs. Preston," Icy said amicably and politely, "but as jou can see, I'm alright. I vas just valking around and admiring ze beauty of zis island vas all." His ruby colored eyes then looked upon the face of his beloved. There was a small, gentle smile on his face. "And vhile I vas making my vay back to join jou and ze ozhers, I happened upon zis little oceanic gem."

He raised his right hand to show Helen and Cynthia what he had been observing and snatched up from the surf moments before. His hand opened up, revealing the top half of a bivalve that was a little larger than a quarter. It was primarly colored a creamy white and along the outer fringes of the shell, there was a dark orange-brown band that spanned across it horizontally. Located directly on the hinge of the shell, there was a tiny hole that allowed the discarded husk to easily become a necklace or a bracelet.

"I zhought zat maybe jou vould like it, Cyndi," he said. "It's small, delicate and beautiful."

"Oh, what a wonderful, romantic little gift!" Helen loudly gushed. She seemed to be acting as if she was the one whom the seashell was to be entrusted to. "How gorgeous… You know, it reminds me of when your father gave me those wonderful pearl earrings on our first anniversary…" Some of her gusto then died down. "And then I lost them whenever we went to that trip to Niagra Falls ten years ago. Oh, he was so mad at me…"

Cynthia could only stare at the shell. She was not expecting this little gift to be suddenly bestowed upon her. She had to admit, it was a pretty yet quaint little shell and her first reaction would've been to kiss him on his lips and accept it. Yet she was also wary of her present, wary of his true intentions. In her gut, she knew it was a ploy of his to try to win her back. There was no way she was going to yield to him so easily and allow herself to be charmed into forgiving him with little trinkets.

"Yeah…" she said lowly. She faked a smile and reluctantly looked into his eyes. "It's really beautiful."

"Zhen it is jours, Cyndi," he said.

Although she threatened him with pain and suffering if he touched her, he tenderly grabbed her hand. He then deposited the seashell into the palm of her hand. His hand then supported hers as his rested beneath.

"I zhink it vould be nice to utilize it for jewelry," Blitzwing suggested. "If jou ask me, it's too beautiful for it to remain on a dusty dresser top. It vould be much more suitable if it hung around ze neck of an even more beautiful voman."

The smile on his face was one of confidence. It wasn't an arrogant, ugly and grating smirk but one that seemed hopeful and eager. With the way he was choosing his words, it seemed as if they would be coming out of a prideful and haughty mouth but that wasn't the case. His tone was casual yet it had a hint of admiration and sincerity too. In Cynthia's eyes, he was kissing up to her. She also had to admit he was doing a good job of acting humble at the same time.

"You really shouldn't have," she said this time in a louder voice. "You flatter me."

He didn't retort to her statement. All she was capable of doing was looking back at his face. A part of Cynthia screamed at her, commanding her to jump into his arms and forgive him. She wanted this to end. But she feared that beneath this sweet display, his devilish and lustful side lurked and waited to reemerge and break her heart for the second time if she so easily pardoned him. Though she was hurt and angry at him, she saw she did indeed still love him. Falling out of love with him was not as instantaneous as she thought it was going to be. In fact, it was going to be far more difficult and painful than what she thought it was going to be. That reality was becoming more painfully obvious as long as she stared back at him.

Silently, she mouthed "no" to him.